Four Greeley schools getting new principals

Parents of students in four Greeley schools will see new faces leading their schools when doors open for the 2013-14 school year in just less than a month.

Northridge High School, Brentwood Middle School, and Monfort and Shawsheen elementary schools will all have new principals, half new to the district and half coming from within.

Insoon Olson takes over at Northridge after perhaps the most surprising exit, as Wesley Paxton stepped down unexpectedly after just two years in the position. He accepted a position as principal at Conifer High School. New principals at Northridge are not uncommon, however. Olson becomes the eighth principal in 14 years since the school opened.

Olson, who has lived in Johnstown since 1997, said she has watched Northridge "grow up," and believes it is similar to the school she is leaving, in terms of needing to find an identity and discover where it fits in the community. In addition, Northridge's diversity is what attracted her to the school, despite its poor track record in retaining leadership.

My favorite teachers, the ones who impacted me the most, were the public school teachers.

— Insoon Olson, new Northridge principal

"This school is exactly the opposite," she said about its difference in demographics from Silver Creek High School in Longmont, where she has served as the assistant principal for the past seven years. "I wanted more diversity. I grew up the only minority in a K-8 school, and I learned a lot about not taking the traditional pathway (to graduation)."

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Olson, who is currently completing a doctoral degree in education at the University of Northern Colorado, received her principal licensure from the University of Colorado-Denver. She said bouncing around schools most of her life and dropping out of high school made her appreciate the teachers who took the time to show her she mattered.

"I've been through it all," she said. "From Montessori, to private, to religious to public. My favorite teachers, the ones who impacted me the most, were the public school teachers."

Amie Cieminski, director of secondary leadership for the school district, said Olson brings a level of leadership that will help programs such as the science, technology, engineering and math and the junior ROTC pathways succeed.

"(She) is a former science teacher and had great success starting and growing college and career readiness programs while serving as an administrator at Silver Creek," Cieminski said. "She is student-centered and has a proven track record of supporting achievement for all students through her words and actions."

The career move to Northridge brings with it two main challenges Olson is excited to overcome — acceptance from a staff of long-tenured teachers and the high at-risk population she's not accustomed to teaching.

Olson said she is well aware there may be a lack of support from teachers. She said that starts with building relationships through example.

"I have to show them I mean what I say and that I'm not here to change anything," she said. "I may tweak some things, but I want to use a lot of what Wes developed and build on that. But I fully recognize I'm not going to have everyone on board immediately or even by the end of the first year."

Northridge's demographics will be a big change from what Olson is accustomed to. Silver Creek has 15 percent of its students on free and reduced lunches and just less than 10 percent were English language learners. By comparison Northridge has 67 percent of its students on free and reduced lunches and 24 percent were English language learners.

"I feel more at home where there is more diversity," she said. "I have always been the one or two only token Asians no matter where I am. There is more diversity, and that is the challenge of real life. That is important to me."

She also said the lack of resources in the district is not an excuse for poor performance levels.

"The teachers we hire, how they interact with their students and moving them forward with high-quality content, is what is important," she said. "Time on task, quality time on task, is the most important resource in removing as many barriers as we can to make students successful. Engagement and actively learning is our goal."

Other leadership changes include:

» Nicole Peterson will take over as principal at Brentwood Middle School after serving four years as the assistant principal at Greeley Central High School. Rachel Heide left the position mid-year after having a baby. Peterson has her undergraduate degree from UNC in secondary language arts and a master's degree in educational leadership from UNC.

» Jennifer Sheldon will replace Sue Ann Highland as principal at Monfort Elementary School. Highland's contract with the district was not renewed at the end of the 2012-13 school year. Sheldon previously held the position of assistant principal at Maplewood Elementary School. She received her bachelor's degree from UNC and her master's degree from Colorado State University.

» Christine Aguilar replaces Marilyn Hiller, who retired at the end of the year, at Shawsheen Elementary School. Most recently, Aguilar comes to the school from the higher education level, where she was an adjunct instructor at Colorado State University's School of Education while completing her doctorate degree in education and human resources. Aguilar has experience as both an elementary and middle school teacher.